The Killing 1

by David Hewson

Overview

David Hewson's The Killing 1 is the novelization of the first series of the hit Danish crime drama, The Killing.

'Through the dark wood where the dead trees give no shelter Nanna Birk Larsen runs . . . There is a bright monocular eye that follows, like a hunter after a wounded deer. It moves in a slow approaching zigzag, marching through the Pineseskoven wasteland, through the Pentecost Forest.

The chill water, the fear, his presence not so far away . . .

There is one torchlight on her now, the single blazing eye. And it is here . . .'

Sarah Lund is looking forward to her last day as a detective with the Copenhagen police department before moving to Sweden. But everything changes when nineteen-year-old student, Nanna Birk Larsen, is found raped and brutally murdered in the woods outside the city. Lund's plans to relocate are put on hold as she leads the investigation along with fellow detective Jan Meyer.

While Nanna's family struggles to cope with their loss, local politician, Troels Hartmann, is in the middle of an election campaign to become the new mayor of Copenhagen. When links between City Hall and the murder suddenly come to light , the case takes an entirely different turn.

Over the course of twenty days, suspect upon suspect emerges as violence and political intrigue cast their shadows over the hunt for the killer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781447213574
Publisher:	Pan Macmillan
Publication date:	05/24/2012
Series:	The Killing , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	720
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David Hewson, is well-known for his crime fiction set in European cities. He is the author of nine novels in the highly acclaimed Detective Nic Costa series, which are set mostly in Rome. His other novels include The Fallen Angel and Carnival for the Dead - set in Venice. He has spent time in Copenhagen researching and writing the novel of The Killing.

Former Sunday Times journalist David Hewson is well known for his crime-thriller fiction set in European cities. He is the author of the highly acclaimed The Killing novels set in Denmark, the Detective Nic Costa series set in Italy and the Pieter Vos series in Amsterdam. The Killing trilogy is based on the BAFTA award-winning Danish TV series created by Søren Sveistrup and produced by DR, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation.

While he lives in Kent, Hewson's ability to capture the sense of place and atmosphere in his fiction comes from spending considerable research time in the cities in which the books are set: Copenhagen, Rome, Venice and Amsterdam.

Editorial Reviews

‘As gripping as the TV series. It will keep you pinned to very last page’ Jens Lapidus

'David Hewson has achieved the seemingly impossible . . . just as gripping as the television serial . . . this book is worth reading' The Literary Review

'a novel in the hugely experienced hands of David Hewson that defies expectation. Hewson’s style is tight, lean, almost like a film script' Express

'clear, clipped prose is beautifully up to the task, as is his forensic attention to the original's details . . . And the ending leaves a very different, but no less thought-provoking taste' Mirror

'David Hewson should be commended for writing such a page-turner of a book . . . The Killing has enough twists and turns to satisfy not only any avid follower of the series but also readers that are coming to it first time around' shotsmag.co.uk

EBOOK COMMENTARY

08/26/2013
Despite the episodic nature of the story and its many elements of soap opera, Hewson (Carnival of the Dead) ably adapts to the page the first season of the hit Danish TV series, which tracks the efforts of tenacious Copenhagen homicide detective Sarah Lund to find the killer of 19-year-old Nanna Birk Larsen. The case has no shortage of suspects, and a link to the campaign staff of liberal mayoral candidate Troels Hartmann threatens to affect the election, as he tries to upset wily Lord Mayor Poul Bremer. Virtually everyone lies to the police, including suspects and witnesses. Dirty tricks from members of both campaign staffs, as well as corruption within police ranks, ensure an investigation in constant turmoil. Lund’s planned and imminent departure for a job in Sweden lends urgency, and working with her replacement and co-investigator, Jan Meyer, adds to the tension. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"David Hewson—the author of more than a dozen detective novels set in Italy and with no need to stoop to anything too hurriedly commercial—has taken what was television gold and turned it into literary gold. This is one of the most engrossing detective novels I’ve read in a long time, with no easy solutions or insulting pay-offs and no easy moral to its story."  —Telegraph

"David Hewson has achieved the seemingly impossible. His novelisation of the drama is a different take on the original . . . just as gripping as the television serial. Whether you missed, hated or love The Killing on TV, this book is worth reading."  —Literary Review

“A splendid book and perhaps a new benchmark for literary adaptations of screen stories.” —Booklist

“Hewson has done an excellent job capturing the chilly flavor of Nordic noir... an excellent novelization of a hit Scandinavian TV series.” —Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/15/2013
Layered with political intrigue, this excellent novelization of a hit Scandinavian TV series is a tense crime novel featuring criminal investigator Sarah Lund. As Lund is about to transfer jobs and move from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Stockholm, Sweden, she is called in to look into the death of a young woman. As she investigates, many suspects emerge, including the victim's family and friends as well as a trio of politicians vying to win the position of Lord Mayor of Copenhagen. With many twists and turns, this work will keep readers guessing the murderer's identity from beginning to end. VERDICT Despite the use of British slang, Hewson (Death in Seville; Nic Costa series) has done an excellent job capturing the chilly flavor of Nordic noir. Similar in tone to the books of Jo Nesbø, Lene Kaaberbø, and Stieg Larsson, this will appeal to adult fans of Scandinavian crime novels.—Russell Michalak, Goldey-Beacom Coll. Lib., Wilmington, DE

Library Journal